Radioactive waste management in the UAE: Proposal for an inventory management system

摘要

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is currently heavily reliant on the burning of fossil-fuels to generate most of its electric power needs. Owing to the newly set 2050 vision in combating climate change, the UAE has set an objective to considerably reduce its carbon footprint associated with power generation facilities. This vision materialized in the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) project, marking the first peaceful civil nuclear power plant in the Arab world. Nuclear power generates radioactive waste. In the UAE, the government's policy is to institute a safe and permanent geological disposal facility (GDF) for the final disposal of higher activity radioactive wastes (HAW). Currently, the UAE does not have a comprehensive radioactive waste inventory database on which an effective management strategy can be built on. Having a comprehensive radioactive waste data collection system will enable the UAE to not only address international reporting commitments, but also provide a transparent record of radioactive waste, which might assist in providing further public assurances. Additionally, the database will provide essential data that will support strategy development, and early waste management planning. It is not possible for the UAE to have an effective radioactive waste management strategy without implementing a system that correctly and accurately defines, records and presents radioactive waste arisings from its nuclear energy program. This paper reviews the overall radioactive waste scene in the UAE and provides a suggestion with regards to a new radioactive waste inventory management system that is based on international best practices.